I was standing in the desert in Iraq, talking to an editor on a satellite phone after Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad.

"Maybe, you should ask the soldiers what they think now that the war is winding down," said the editor, who no longer works at the Free Press.

"The war is winding down?" I asked, incredulously. Because it didn't feel like it on the ground.

"Yes."

That's how it was playing back in the States; the statue was down and the war was symbolically over. As a nation, we like our stories to be quick and concise, and then we move on.

Of course, the war wasn't over. The fighting would last for years.

Toppling a statue might create a short-term excitement -- a sense of euphoria, closure and victory -- but in the end, it is nothing but an empty symbolic gesture. And that's what I can't get out of my head the past few days, as many have called for Penn State to tear down Joe Paterno's statue because of his role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse case.

I'm not comparing a dictator and a football coach. Far from it.

I am just trying to shed some light on the symbolic act of bringing down a statue. Because I don't want anybody to think this is done.

Sickening silence

On Tuesday, a plane flew over Penn State with a banner that read: "Take the statue down or we will."

Now, in one sense I agree. If there is a single victim that wants that statue down, take it down.

But as the father of three kids, I hope the statue will stay up. I want that statue to keep a horrible subject in our national conversation.

Child sex abuse is a sick, evil crime -- a torture that lasts long after the act -- and it deserves the death penalty. I'm serious when I say that. If you sexually abuse a child, you should lose your right to live. And let the families do it. Let them flip the switch.

Covering up child sex abuse? Failing to report it? Not doing anything to stop a serial pedophile? Looking the other way? That is so sick and vile that I can't comprehend it.

And that's why I want that statue to stay up. I want people to cringe when they walk past that statue.

I want it to serve as a reminder of how out of whack sports can become in our culture, how coaches can become more powerful than the institution itself, and how unchecked power can cover up the most evil situation imaginable.

I want television cameras to focus on that statue every time there is a game in Happy Valley.

Instead of taking down that statue, I want that statue to include excerpts from the 267-page report compiled by former FBI director Louis Freeh. In his news conference, Freeh said Paterno and other senior officials:

• Had "total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's victims."

• "Concealed" facts from authorities.

• "Failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized."

Lessons from a legacy

Some say that bringing down the statute will help the healing process. I don't buy that. I think the opposite could happen: It could make people think the story is over. Just like in Iraq.

So keep the statue. Make people uncomfortable. Make people talk about it -- for generations to come. Make people realize how the only way to stop crimes against children is to keep the subject out in the open.

Let that statue be Penn State's scarlet letter. A telltale sign that something evil happened in those athletic facilities. How no coach is bigger than a school.

Let it remind everybody how important it is to report suspected child abuse.